The present invention relates to the field of stringed musical instruments and more particularly it relates to a high density headplate attachment that can be removably and selectively added onto the headstock of a stringed instrument such as a guitar or electric bass for improvements in sustain and frequency response.
In musical instruments such as violins and guitars that generate sound from string vibration, it has been recognized that the quality of sound is influenced by the effective mass in the instrument in the vicinity of the string support or xe2x80x9cbearing saddlexe2x80x9d points at either end of the strings. Ideally the mass in these end points would be made infinitely large compared to the mass of the strings for ultimate sound quality and long sustain. While this effect has been taken into account to some extent and some times in the basic design of some higher quality stringed instruments, most present day instruments in the guitar family are somewhat deficient in mass in these critical regions at the ends of the strings, and could benefit substantially from the addition of more mass, e.g. in guitars, there has been a trend to make the headstock thinner as dictated by style and hardware considerations, and consequently lighter in weight and thus subject to improvement by the addition of mass.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,102 by R. Aspen Pittman, the present inventor, discloses a high density headplate for a stringed instrument such as a guitar or electric bass to be installed between the headstock and the tuning machine, so as to effectively making the headstock thicker and/or denser than what is merely required for structural purposes, i.e. to support the tuning mechanism. Such structure is suited to original manufacture, and can be applied as a retrofit on existing instruments by in effect rebuilding the headstock. This involved removing the strings, dismounting the tuning mechanisms, removing the original headplate, replacing it with the denser/thicker one and then re-installing the tuning mechanisms and the strings, then retuning the instrument. In the case where the replacement headplate was thicker than the original, this changed the angle of the strings as they pass over the nut and proceed to the tuning pegs. Varying this angle affects the sustain and overall frequency response of the instrument
U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,870 to Ralston teaches fastening metal plates onto various regions of a wooden guitar body surfaces including the headstock of electric guitars in order to obtain lighter overall weight and smaller body thickness profiles while maintaining superior sustain and tonal qualities.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,889,222 to Burgess discloses a device for altering the effective mass of stringed instrument such as a cello or violin to assuage objectionable tones such as the xe2x80x9cwolfxe2x80x9d from a violincello by affixing a movable mass to an accessory or member of the body of the instrument.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a convenient device for altering the mass of the headstock of a stringed musical instrument such as a guitar or string bass in order to improve the sustain and/or frequency response.
It is a further object to make the device for altering the mass easily installed and removed from the musical instrument headstock without tools.
It is a further object that the device for altering the mass can be installed in selected different regions of the headstock,
It is a further object that the device for altering the mass does not affect the angle of the strings
The abovementioned objects have been accomplished in the present invention of a mass-increasing device in the form of a metal clamp that can be removably attached to the headstock of a stringed instrument such as an acoustic guitar, electric guitar or electric bass to add mass for improve the frequency response and sustain performance of the instrument. The device is made in the form of a U-shaped C-clamp with an adjustment screw having a knurled finger knob at one end and a felt-padded pressure disc at the other end, the screw traversing a wide leg of the clamp which is normally located toward the rear of the headstock. On the narrower opposite leg of the clamp, which is normally placed on the front surface of the headstock under the strings, a rubber cushion is provided to protect the finish on the instrument headstock. A standard version of the device is made optimal for standard guitars, and a slightly wider and heavier version is made and marketed for bass guitars.